Auckland Coal Action. Next Meeting: Saturday 4th May
Place: Quaker Meeting House: 113 Mt Eden Rd
Time: 1 00 – 4 00 pm
Agenda:
Follow up of letter to Fonterra – progress?
Contacting members prior to meetings.
Leaflet to residents of Waitoa and Te Awamutu?
Proposed: film screening of Thin Ice as a fundraiser in collaboration with 350.org
Green Party’s All Party Climate Change Conference June 7th. Should we be there?
T Shirts – progress?
Suggested: A review of the wording of bumper stickers. Would “Coal-Free New Zealand” ( a statement of commitment to make NZ Coal-Free) be stronger than “Proud to be Coal Free” (which is an individual’s claim about themselves). As we plan to share these across all NZ anti-coal groups – could we consult with other groups re the prefered wording?
Targeted communication re carbon bubble and the science that says we can’t burn 2/3rds of the reserves we have already – so why drill/mine for more?
From 2 00 pm onwards:
Mangatangi campaign in a wider context.
ACA involvement in Bathurst campaign
Mangatawhiri campaign matters:
The hearing: Our presence – what form will this take?
Sign-up of people to Coal-Free Mangatawhiri – progress?
Situation re billboards at Mangatangi.
Beyond the hearing: Planning future actions?
School boiler collaboration with Gen Zero – progress?
The relationship between this firm and the National Party has been a very rewarding one. Financially for us and in political terms for the National Party.
Our charges have been higher than the industry standard but this is because of the difficulty of the various assignments we have received. We were required to make Don Brash appear human and we nearly succeeded. We were then required to make a merchant banker whose wealth was directly related to the manipulation of the New Zealand dollar, whose memory is appalling and who has succeeded in politics only because he has psychopathic tendencies appeal to ordinary New Zealanders. And we were forced to make a party with misogynist, racist and homophobic tendencies attractive to women, Maori and homosexuals.
We have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. But we have a reputation to protect and so we are discontinuing our relationship with your party.
The reason is that there is no way we can repair the damage caused by Aaron Gilmour’s behaviour. We have spent huge resources creating the fiction that National MPs are ordinary people who are respectful of workers rather than overbearing arrogant toffs which they have traditionally been. We had persuaded enough people to believe that this reality was not true but in one drunken evening Mr Happy Gilmour has destroyed the work of many years and it is irreparable.
The firm’s directors cannot tolerate any further association with the group of self centred, arrogant, misguided mess that is the current National Party as the firm has a reputation to protect.
RNZ. Mr Key accepts Mr Gilmore’s word that he did not threaten the waiter with the PM office and sacking. And no complaint received from the hotel. Clearly the friend who was embarrassed by Mr Gilmore’s actions must have fabricated the story. Mr Gilmore earlier said that he could not remember what he had said but obviously he had been very polite and the others were rowdy.
And the Gilmore brain fade is OK as it fits the PM lead.
RNZ have forgotten how to be serious journalists and ask hard questions.
You’ll get tougher questioning from Sean Plunket and John Campbell than a lot of the timid ones presently claiming to be journalists at RNZ.
Give your example Paul. This is of interest, as we need to monitor, fairly, the effectiveness and devotion to their journalistic task of Radionz. If criticising, state the occasion and content so we can listen.
Aaron Gilmour sounds like quite a revolting character. In the Herald today, this from a fellow diner at the restaurant.
“We were sitting about 5m from them. Right from the beginning, pretty much [from] when he [Gilmore] walked in he was already being quite arrogant – whistling at the waiters and clicking his fingers to get them over there to give them more drinks and stuff like that,” Mr Rangi said.”It was quite awkward, the restaurant was nice and quiet.”
Right from the beginning….he was whistling at waiters and clicking his fingers to summon them.
So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.
“So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.”
No you’re correct – he’s just a natural born boor.
Think of of a trio of boors – arrogant, bogoted, born-to-rule, holier-than-thou, mean spirited, nouveau riche, arse licking future Nat careerists:
They hang together like flies sticking to shit. Think Aaron Gilmore, Simon Bridges and Todd McClay
That’s a UK company sending it’s employees here on a working holiday.
You can’t employ from outside NZ if the job can be filled by kiwis, but you can set up shop, pay no income taxes and be immune to employment laws.
karol
Like it, an employment option: within these time zones, where would you like to work for six months tours of duty? And not as a grunt type tour of duty, a foot soldier, but as a member of the cossetted class with your own nice air conditioned seat and office.
The Allen
The speaker did say something about getting NZs included, in passing. Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?
“Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?”
I don’t know about that. It’s not a NZ company and they’re not taxpayers, does employment law cover what tourists do on their holiday?
I know the poor seamen that regularly wash up abused on our shores are covered, but that’s probably quite a different thing.
another trawl of market failures.(many published sustainable seafood guides suggest consumers should avoid the species; anyway, bright red until they give up the ghost and too much consumption can have adverse effects on health).
if they’re working in NZ, they need work visas and are covered by NZ employment law.
And I’m sure the cleaners would be paid locally, so the call centre is still a workplace.
We won’t see it on TV or in the papers but maybe we will see it in Parliament next week?
( hint hint to the MP’s out there ) i suggest something effective, say in a billboard scale held aloft across the entire opposition benches.
In all seriousness though, this simple image deserves widespread public exposure and a very public statement from National saying how it’s all good and there is nothing to be concerned about. Then perhaps Simon Bridges can qualify how permits were given for this most fragile of regions. We must have it on the record now, for when the inevitable destruction occurs later the memory holes will be cavernous.
Plus the fact the nats are involved, of course. They’d discover that plugging a well built by the lowest bidder is not as simple as snapping your fingers and whistling.
Because it’s in a plate boundary area and I don’t care what fail-safe methods they say they have to prevent blowout in a mega-thrust quake they would probably be about as worthless as the failsafes at Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima (where nobody factored in their safety designs that the land would drop). We won’t have the capacity to manage a large earthquake, tsunami, and gigantic, gushing oil leak.
There is a big risk if Kiwibank was made a stand-alone entity away from NZPost, for governments with short-term views to sell it. (Disbelievers, there are such things!) It will soon be worth a billion, and be a nice boost to a government’s balance sheet. Jim Anderton was talking about this on Radionz this am, and he sounds like the Voice of Wisdom, really, after listening to the present conmen (he embraces she) in the present government.
And getting mail deliveries three days a week will work as well as milk delivery of three days a week, NOT for most. Some subsidy, through accepting less profitability by gummint, would be right behaviour with a five day delivery, suggestion to miss Monday when business letters would be low.
It could also be that more care for the company’s effectiveness and efficiency will bring costs down. What the Queenstown debacle revealed, when the curtains opened, should have been the main actors with guilty faces from top management down – some with egg on their faces, others pie, according to preference. Damn disgusting and it occurs to me that perhaps they have focussed too much of their attention and expertise on selling mail systems overseas, which they have done as an arm of the company. What effect this at home cesspit will do to their image of selling a modern styled process when learned by the distant customers, will likely be a stain on their trousers.
The Remuneration Authority, which sets the pay for city, district and regional councils, has increased the national pay pool by 8.9 per cent, meaning some councillors will pocket rises of up to $16,000 after this year’s elections.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if wage and salary earners were paid by the same standards used by the Authority? You would get what would be deserved like 8.9%.
Oh well be really grateful with your 1% increase you workers. Times are tough you know!
I referred to Zelda D’Aprano in Australia in a comment about International Workers Day and thought I’d look up Google to see what she has been up to – and find it much.
For women interested in those who worked hard for themselves and other women to gain fair treatment and have better lives, here is a link about this lady which is just one on a page full under her name. http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/author/id=61/
Food Poverty in the land of plenty, yet that’s OK, the government is going to fund researchers who have jobs and good starts in life to the tune of 73Million to find out why other children do not!
The ensuing comments would suggest many people in NZ would support Hone’s Feed the Kids bill. Let’s hope our government gives a damn…
Oh I forgot, these NACT folk see hungry poor people as wine waiters who should be at their beck and call and grovel in their midst.
Umm wouldn’t it be easier to just use said 73 million to sort out some of the problemsm instead of Paying some Joe 90 type who’s all theory and no practical!
Joyce defensively concludes the decline in postgrads
numbers isn’t due to the removal of support, but is
population decline. This immediately would have shown
up in previous years of undergraduate intakes, as of
course the declining numbers would have them flowed on.
So of course Joyce could do nothing about declining
undergraduate numbers because either they weren’t
declining or Joyce wasn’t worried that less graduates
were shrinking the skilled workforce, as growth
is just around the corner and we don’t need to be
ready for it, China will take up any slack. đ
We can’t afford it, we can’t afford that we benefit
when China could be.
“I’ve never ever had a problem getting into a public pool,” she said. “There is obviously a surge in demand during the holidays – it’s a peak time for them when they have larger than normal volumes, but this is the first time I have ever experienced an inability to get in, and not just at one pool but at all the other pools, too.” She said the entry fees should return.
“I thought the prices were trivial anyway, it’s a very affordable type of family entertainment … I’ve never heard anyone complain about the price of the pool or decide not to go because it was too expensive.”
A wild guess that her people that haven’t complained about the previous ‘trivial’ prices are not low income. And now it costs nothing and more kids come to swim so it should cost again so fewer kids swim, but the cost didn’t stop people in the first place? Hmmm, I think she might need to sort that logic out.
Todayâs [2/5/13] New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a substantial gain in support for Prime Minister John Keyâs National Party to 46.5% (up 6% since April 1-14, 2013). Support for Keyâs Coalition partners remains low with the Maori Party 1.5% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 0.5% (unchanged) and United Future 0.5% (unchanged).
Support for Labour is 31.5% (down 4%); Greens are 11% (down 2.5%), New Zealand First 4.5% (down 0.5%), Mana Party 1% (up 0.5%), Conservative Party of NZ 2% (up 0.5%) and Others 1% (up 0.5%).
From Scoop.
This poll was taken from the 15th to 28th of March. What makes 46.5% people vote for this hopeless bunch? What made 6% change their vote to National?
This is an atrocious government that looks after the top 1%, how the hell do they get nearly half the Nation voting for them?
McFlock thinks Shearer is just fine for the job; shearly 32% or so will win the Treasury benches (with a bit of help from the Greens and others), what more could one possibly want from the Labour Party?
Oh, I’d love it if the right choice of leader would simultaneously turn labour into the NZ Socialist Party with support boosted to 70% in the two weeks from one roy morgan to the next.
But relentlessly nagging about it for months on end would just end up alienating my political allies and making me look like an obsessive, delusional loser.
So I take a breath, get the fuck over it, and try to improve the real world rather than pining for a leftist rapture.
It isn’t solely about winning an election McFlock – it is also about containing the excesses of an existing government from the opposition benches. Think about Michael Cullen, who with a blistering verbal attack, embarrassed Ruth Richardson into amending a rule by which widows’ benefits would have been paid from the date of application rather than the date of the partner’s death.
In comparison, the National Government now have carte blanche in their attacks on the powerless. Jacinda and Darien certainly do what they can with what they’ve got, but you never get the sense that the full force of the party is behind them in their efforts, and John Key can cheerfully bring in anti-worker legislation on May Day while damning Shearer with faint praise. If Labour eventually do get the treasury benches under Shearer, with 30% + add-ons, they will not only be a minority government, they will inherit an entrenched tyranny, partly of their own making. The only spark of conviction I have seen from them has been pitted against the left of their own party, not the Tories.
Well, except for a few members who throw their toys around because they didn’t get the leader they want, yes.
I get the impression that caucus are settling into their roles in the house quite well. More effectively than the nats have been of late.
Must Read for all concerned with health care delivery, fair assessments and with WINZ decisions based on such by designated doctors:
Welcome to our truly “independent”, “fair” and “caring” HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER and his staff at their office.
As of recent, some bizarre “decisions” have been made upon complaints to the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner. A recent one was made by Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Theodora (Theo) Baker.
I looked up her background on LinkedIn, and by doing an online search, I found revealing info re her last job at “Capsticks LLB”, which is a kind of large, virtually “corporate” style law firm in the UK, which does do a lot of work for NHS, private health care providers, trusts, and organisations that work with health care providers there.
See these links for intersting information:
Theo Baker’s personal Linked In “profile” lists her background of having worked for the ‘Health and Disability Commissioner Office’ before – as “Director of Proceedings” from 2004 to 2009. Then she appears to have left that office for an “overseas experience stint” at ‘Capsticks LLB’ in the UK, presumably to get more “legal expertise” in the health sector there – see this:
Theo Baker returned to New Zealand and did in 2011 accept an appointment by Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, to take up a new job at the ‘Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner’ as DEPUTY HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER. She is according to online info and their staff chart responsible for “disputes resolution”! Anecdotal info about that “disputes resolution” is, that “resolution” appears to be more about “talking over matters” than investigating and holding medical practitioners and other health professionals accountable.
Now one wonders what motivated her to come back, and why National Party member and now Minister of Health Tony Ryall appointed her.
There was controversy about the appointment of Anthony Hill as new Commissioner before, which the Otago Daily Times wrote about here:
On reading that ODT article, one has to ponder on Dr Des Gorman again, head of a number of key health administrations (now ACC, so far Health Workforce NZ, National Health Board, Medical School of Auckland Uni, etc.), and apparently also a member of an international organisation called the ‘Medical Protection Society’! See this for VERY interesting information:
So Dr Gorman is a clear advocate for protecting the interests of medical professionals, and he was like other key stakeholders (government and other providers and so forth) tasked with appointing a new Health and Disability Commissioner, whom they chose Anthony Hill for.
Given this information, does anybody still show any surprise about the lack of “action” and investigations that have been taken and started under the present Commissioner and his “team”? Theo Baker appears to “blend in” well with the office staff, who now operate under a top Commissioner appointed by Tony Ryall.
That is a marked drop from what former, more effective and committed Commissioner Ron Paterson did in the way of investigations and decisions upon complaints.
So one may wonder, does NO “medical misadventure” or other “mistake” or failing happen in the medical and treatment professions in New Zealand these days? Well, it seems like with “welfare” suddenly figures “improve” under a slash, burn and “off-loading burdens” kind of government, and the “commissioners” and other office holders they have appointed.
Any person who has had reason to make a complaint to the H+D Commissioner (numbers are rather unchanged or even up with these), and who wonders, why no satisfactory action is taken, just needs to draw their conclusions from reading and studying the info found under links show above!
Fairness, reasonableness, objectivity and accountability no longer appear to be a priority for many office holders in such key institutions in New Zealand, I am afraid, if they ever were, really!
Do not be surprised, if you are getting fobbed off, off-loaded, treated with little respect, little dignity and honesty, be this by ACC, WINZ or any health professional, acting under stress, pressures, and demands to perform responsibilities in a cost saving environment. Time to worry, really!
Strangely one recent “decision” was about a WINZ designated doctor, who is well known to be a much used and preferred “assessor” for MSD and WINZ. The HDC Commissioner appears to have let him off the hook for extremely biased and questionable conduct and unfounded diagnosis and “recommendations”. The “assessment” just happened to be “too long ago”, and his statement “contradicted the one of the complainant”, was the simple conclusion, while an abundance of evidence was apparently not considered worth looking at.
So the matter was considered to not be worth “investigating further”.
Add the dots together. New Zealand is NOT the transparent, accountable and fair place that many still think it is.
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The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it wonât come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of Americaâs virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealandâs apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Memberâs Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current âEnvironmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Frameworkâ. âThis Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if todayâs announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between MÄori and the British Crown. Initially inked by NgÄ Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this governmentâs failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealandâs opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting MÄori and Pacific people especially hard, with MÄori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between MÄori and the British Crown. Initially inked by NgÄ Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing â National still wonât commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the countryâs public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader ChlÜe Swarbrick. ...
Te PÄti MÄori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymourâs âcost-savingâ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. âWhatâs the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?â Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the townâs Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mĹ Te KÄhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tĹŤpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tĹŤpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Childrenâs Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her governmentâs terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers â temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymourâs school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Governmentâs move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Governmentâs commitment to get New Zealandâs roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. âIncreasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. âToday I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in WhÄngarei will be offering childhood immunisations â the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Governmentâs record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealandâs strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealandâs national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Governmentâs transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. Itâs a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. âThe racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. âThe latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are âstill both very highâ.â The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawkeâs Bay Fallen Soldiersâ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawkeâs Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealandâs second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. âWe have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mĹ Te KÄhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. âThis Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âA world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed KÄinga Oraâs decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. âIn 2024 KÄinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,â Mr Bishop says. âAs part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. âAs schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamarikiâs review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 Whatâs Up hotline. âWhen I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. âThe Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. âDecember 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labourâs blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. âThe previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. âNational campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 â the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. âThis yearâs Budget will drive forward the Governmentâs plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. âBudget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Governmentâs growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. âJust over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. âThe Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,â says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. âThe change is part of the Governmentâs plan to unlock New Zealandâs potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of KÄinga Oraâs development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âIâve been a strong advocate for social housing on KÄinga Oraâs Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministersâ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.âHealth New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. âI referred the matter of Judge Aitkenâs alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âLast year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. âOur diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealandâs interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,â Mr Peters says. âIt is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi â without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston Northâs biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whÄnau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. âThe Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. Itâs so great to be here and Iâm ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges â CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. âInvest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. âThe reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealandâs economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Ministerâs State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealandersâ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. âIn the previous governmentâs final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. âThat is completely ...
The Governmentâs welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. âThere are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. âI am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. âJon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. âIâm pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flavio Macau, Associate Dean – School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Hitra/Shutterstock Coles is reducing its product range by at least 10%, a move that has sparked public backlash and renewed discussions about the role of supermarkets in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Humphrey, Research Fellow in Urban Ecology, RMIT University Golf courses are sometimes seen as harmful to the environment. According to the popular notion, the grass soaks up too much water, is cut too short and sprayed with dangerous chemicals. But in ...
New Zealand has long championed a fair, stable, and resilient global order. As a nation with deep ties to the Pacific and beyond, we cannot afford to be passive in the face of these shifts. ...
Things are going to look a little different this year. Hereâs what to expect.Good news, Shortland Street fans: after a well-earned summer holiday, New Zealandâs longest running drama returns to TVNZ2 and TVNZ+ tonight. Ahead of us is a fresh year of living, loving and laughing in the nationâs ...
The poll, conducted between 02 and 04 February, shows National up 2.3 points to 31.9 percent, while Labour has risen 0.4 points from last month to 31.3 percent. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
The Cook Islands finds itself in a precarious dance â one between the promises of foreign investments and the integrity of our own sovereignty. As the country sways between partners China and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands News asks: âDo we continue to haka with the Taniwha, our constitutional ...
A diplomatic scuffle with the Cook Islands. Plus: What went down at Waitangi. The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, has provoked the wrath of the New Zealand foreign minister with his decision to head to China to sign a new strategic deal. By failing to consult on the ...
The deputy chairperson of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Michael Connelly, said simply setting targets without "resourcing" them was a pointless exercise, as the number of patients - and their acuity - continuing to grow. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suvradip Maitra, PhD Student, Australian National University Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock Late last year, ChatGPT was used by a Victorian child protection worker to draft documents. In a glaring error, ChatGPT referred to a âdollâ used for sexual purposes as an âage-appropriate toyâ. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niven Winchester, Professor of Economics, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Donald Trump has already made good on his threat to impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods, and is due to announce a 25% tariff on all steel and ...
Diplomatic tension between the Cook Islands and New Zealand is growing. Here's what it's about about, what China has to do with it, and why it matters. ...
Sick of human reality TV? Alex Casey has found a perfect solution in David Attenboroughâs latest. Iâm know Iâm not alone when I say this: humans are bleaking me out at the moment. Turn on the news for the bleakest updates imaginable. Try to numb the pain with Married at ...
The Director of Public Health is a statutory role providing public health leadership across the Public Health Agency, within the Ministry of Health, and the National Public Health Service within Health NZ. ...
Zachary Forbes, a maths teacher from Whanganui, has started an unusual initiative on videogame streaming service Twitch. Shanti Mathias interviews him. âThe people want First Samuel,â says the man who calls himself Brother Zac. Brown hair, headphones on, a wall behind him, he pauses and reflects on the comments heâs ...
Endless New Zealand politicians, including the present government, have pointed to our support for a rules-based international system, says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...
In January, the reversals to speed limit reductions on the state highway network began. Councils have been asked to reverse all reduced speed limits since 2020 by July. A retired rural healthcare worker found something missing from the conversation â a maths equation she learned in high school. As told ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natarsha McPherson, PhD Candidate in Spatial Ecology, University of Adelaide Rob D / Shutterstock On the vast expanse of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, two very different creatures live side by side â but not always peacefully. One is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John White, Associate Professor in Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Deakin University Fire broke out in the Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) in December and raged for weeks. Then lightning strikes ignited fresh blazes late last month, which merged to form a mega-fire thatâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karley Beckman, Senior Lecturer in Digital Technologies for Learning, University of Wollongong If you are a parent of a school student, you may have received a form seeking permission to use your childâs image on school social media accounts. Itâs very ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato The day he took office for his second term, United States President Donald J. Trump unveiled his âAmerica Firstâ trade policy, including tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada (both of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack McGrath, Lecturer in Animation, University of Newcastle Netflix The 2025 Academy Awards could shape up to be a big one for stop-motion animation. Australian director Adam Eliottâs Memoir of a Snail (2024) has raked in a nomination for Best Animated ...
Mark Brownâs trip to China risks damaging the close bond between the Cook Islands and NZ, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. âSignificant concernâ New Zealandâs tight knit relationship with the Cook Islands is at risk after the nationâs prime ...
.Advisers warned the Minister for Resources that his plans to limit industry liability for the clean-up costs of was more lenient that Australia and the UK. ...
A snub by the Cook Islands prime minister will be watched by any nations keen to see how deep New Zealand's partnerships in the region really are, an expert on geopolitics in the Pacific says. ...
The union for public service workers has taken the "unprecedented" step of asking the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate Health NZ's plan to cut nearly half its IT staff as part of the government's cost-cutting drive. ...
Auckland Coal Action. Next Meeting: Saturday 4th May
Place: Quaker Meeting House: 113 Mt Eden Rd
Time: 1 00 – 4 00 pm
Agenda:
Follow up of letter to Fonterra – progress?
Contacting members prior to meetings.
Leaflet to residents of Waitoa and Te Awamutu?
Proposed: film screening of Thin Ice as a fundraiser in collaboration with 350.org
Green Party’s All Party Climate Change Conference June 7th. Should we be there?
T Shirts – progress?
Suggested: A review of the wording of bumper stickers. Would “Coal-Free New Zealand” ( a statement of commitment to make NZ Coal-Free) be stronger than “Proud to be Coal Free” (which is an individual’s claim about themselves). As we plan to share these across all NZ anti-coal groups – could we consult with other groups re the prefered wording?
Targeted communication re carbon bubble and the science that says we can’t burn 2/3rds of the reserves we have already – so why drill/mine for more?
From 2 00 pm onwards:
Mangatangi campaign in a wider context.
ACA involvement in Bathurst campaign
Mangatawhiri campaign matters:
The hearing: Our presence – what form will this take?
Sign-up of people to Coal-Free Mangatawhiri – progress?
Situation re billboards at Mangatangi.
Beyond the hearing: Planning future actions?
School boiler collaboration with Gen Zero – progress?
Divestment as a strategy
Celebrating 20 years of the World Wide Web, the first web page has been recreated.
Memo from Crosby Textor
To John Key
Subject: So long …
The relationship between this firm and the National Party has been a very rewarding one. Financially for us and in political terms for the National Party.
Our charges have been higher than the industry standard but this is because of the difficulty of the various assignments we have received. We were required to make Don Brash appear human and we nearly succeeded. We were then required to make a merchant banker whose wealth was directly related to the manipulation of the New Zealand dollar, whose memory is appalling and who has succeeded in politics only because he has psychopathic tendencies appeal to ordinary New Zealanders. And we were forced to make a party with misogynist, racist and homophobic tendencies attractive to women, Maori and homosexuals.
We have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. But we have a reputation to protect and so we are discontinuing our relationship with your party.
The reason is that there is no way we can repair the damage caused by Aaron Gilmour’s behaviour. We have spent huge resources creating the fiction that National MPs are ordinary people who are respectful of workers rather than overbearing arrogant toffs which they have traditionally been. We had persuaded enough people to believe that this reality was not true but in one drunken evening Mr Happy Gilmour has destroyed the work of many years and it is irreparable.
The firm’s directors cannot tolerate any further association with the group of self centred, arrogant, misguided mess that is the current National Party as the firm has a reputation to protect.
So long and thanks for all the money …
RNZ. Mr Key accepts Mr Gilmore’s word that he did not threaten the waiter with the PM office and sacking. And no complaint received from the hotel. Clearly the friend who was embarrassed by Mr Gilmore’s actions must have fabricated the story. Mr Gilmore earlier said that he could not remember what he had said but obviously he had been very polite and the others were rowdy.
And the Gilmore brain fade is OK as it fits the PM lead.
RNZ have forgotten how to be serious journalists and ask hard questions.
You’ll get tougher questioning from Sean Plunket and John Campbell than a lot of the timid ones presently claiming to be journalists at RNZ.
Give your example Paul. This is of interest, as we need to monitor, fairly, the effectiveness and devotion to their journalistic task of Radionz. If criticising, state the occasion and content so we can listen.
O.K. I’ll record time etc next time..
Aaron Gilmour sounds like quite a revolting character. In the Herald today, this from a fellow diner at the restaurant.
“We were sitting about 5m from them. Right from the beginning, pretty much [from] when he [Gilmore] walked in he was already being quite arrogant – whistling at the waiters and clicking his fingers to get them over there to give them more drinks and stuff like that,” Mr Rangi said.”It was quite awkward, the restaurant was nice and quiet.”
Right from the beginning….he was whistling at waiters and clicking his fingers to summon them.
So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.
“So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.”
No you’re correct – he’s just a natural born boor.
Think of of a trio of boors – arrogant, bogoted, born-to-rule, holier-than-thou, mean spirited, nouveau riche, arse licking future Nat careerists:
They hang together like flies sticking to shit. Think Aaron Gilmore, Simon Bridges and Todd McClay
đ đ
Well done.
a scarlet letter mickey
“Wrexham call centre staff fly to New Zealand to cover night shifts”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-22370334
That’s a UK company sending it’s employees here on a working holiday.
You can’t employ from outside NZ if the job can be filled by kiwis, but you can set up shop, pay no income taxes and be immune to employment laws.
What’s in it for us?
Maybe NZ employers should follow suit – send NZ call centre staff to the Mediterranean to cover NZ nights?
karol
Like it, an employment option: within these time zones, where would you like to work for six months tours of duty? And not as a grunt type tour of duty, a foot soldier, but as a member of the cossetted class with your own nice air conditioned seat and office.
The Allen
The speaker did say something about getting NZs included, in passing. Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?
“Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?”
I don’t know about that. It’s not a NZ company and they’re not taxpayers, does employment law cover what tourists do on their holiday?
I know the poor seamen that regularly wash up abused on our shores are covered, but that’s probably quite a different thing.
still asking the fishy, hard questions then.
As cod is my witness
a pointedly red piece then.
‘
Dolphinitely.
you guys play roughy
another trawl of market failures.(many published sustainable seafood guides suggest consumers should avoid the species; anyway, bright red until they give up the ghost and too much consumption can have adverse effects on health).
Only way to get a squidward in egdeways
as long as no Krusty Krabs are served beneath Sandy Cheeked Bikinis at all.
Nah, just a load of old Pollocks !!.
Wood leave quite an abstract splash.
if they’re working in NZ, they need work visas and are covered by NZ employment law.
And I’m sure the cleaners would be paid locally, so the call centre is still a workplace.
Something to ponder
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/480201_558461730865261_613173355_n.jpg
Oh dear – brilliant graphic; not so brilliant Anadarko.
We won’t see it on TV or in the papers but maybe we will see it in Parliament next week?
( hint hint to the MP’s out there ) i suggest something effective, say in a billboard scale held aloft across the entire opposition benches.
In all seriousness though, this simple image deserves widespread public exposure and a very public statement from National saying how it’s all good and there is nothing to be concerned about. Then perhaps Simon Bridges can qualify how permits were given for this most fragile of regions. We must have it on the record now, for when the inevitable destruction occurs later the memory holes will be cavernous.
hat tip to Trillion for the image btw
An oil platform in the Pegasus zone will be an ecological disaster waiting to happen.
Why?
Because some breathless hippy says so
Unlike some moronic Monkey?
Hey! Wotcha!
probability over time
Plus the fact the nats are involved, of course. They’d discover that plugging a well built by the lowest bidder is not as simple as snapping your fingers and whistling.
Because it’s in a plate boundary area and I don’t care what fail-safe methods they say they have to prevent blowout in a mega-thrust quake they would probably be about as worthless as the failsafes at Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima (where nobody factored in their safety designs that the land would drop). We won’t have the capacity to manage a large earthquake, tsunami, and gigantic, gushing oil leak.
There is a big risk if Kiwibank was made a stand-alone entity away from NZPost, for governments with short-term views to sell it. (Disbelievers, there are such things!) It will soon be worth a billion, and be a nice boost to a government’s balance sheet. Jim Anderton was talking about this on Radionz this am, and he sounds like the Voice of Wisdom, really, after listening to the present conmen (he embraces she) in the present government.
And getting mail deliveries three days a week will work as well as milk delivery of three days a week, NOT for most. Some subsidy, through accepting less profitability by gummint, would be right behaviour with a five day delivery, suggestion to miss Monday when business letters would be low.
It could also be that more care for the company’s effectiveness and efficiency will bring costs down. What the Queenstown debacle revealed, when the curtains opened, should have been the main actors with guilty faces from top management down – some with egg on their faces, others pie, according to preference. Damn disgusting and it occurs to me that perhaps they have focussed too much of their attention and expertise on selling mail systems overseas, which they have done as an arm of the company. What effect this at home cesspit will do to their image of selling a modern styled process when learned by the distant customers, will likely be a stain on their trousers.
The Remuneration Authority, which sets the pay for city, district and regional councils, has increased the national pay pool by 8.9 per cent, meaning some councillors will pocket rises of up to $16,000 after this year’s elections.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if wage and salary earners were paid by the same standards used by the Authority? You would get what would be deserved like 8.9%.
Oh well be really grateful with your 1% increase you workers. Times are tough you know!
I referred to Zelda D’Aprano in Australia in a comment about International Workers Day and thought I’d look up Google to see what she has been up to – and find it much.
For women interested in those who worked hard for themselves and other women to gain fair treatment and have better lives, here is a link about this lady which is just one on a page full under her name.
http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/author/id=61/
Food Poverty in the land of plenty, yet that’s OK, the government is going to fund researchers who have jobs and good starts in life to the tune of 73Million to find out why other children do not!
The ensuing comments would suggest many people in NZ would support Hone’s Feed the Kids bill. Let’s hope our government gives a damn…
Oh I forgot, these NACT folk see hungry poor people as wine waiters who should be at their beck and call and grovel in their midst.
Possibly because the roots of the problem are serious, deep, systemic, and require a bit more thrown at it than just money.
Umm wouldn’t it be easier to just use said 73 million to sort out some of the problemsm instead of Paying some Joe 90 type who’s all theory and no practical!
73.5Million Actually
speaking of hungry
Joyce defensively concludes the decline in postgrads
numbers isn’t due to the removal of support, but is
population decline. This immediately would have shown
up in previous years of undergraduate intakes, as of
course the declining numbers would have them flowed on.
So of course Joyce could do nothing about declining
undergraduate numbers because either they weren’t
declining or Joyce wasn’t worried that less graduates
were shrinking the skilled workforce, as growth
is just around the corner and we don’t need to be
ready for it, China will take up any slack. đ
We can’t afford it, we can’t afford that we benefit
when China could be.
Lecture on Press freedom now streaming online from AUT:
http://ondemand.aut.ac.nz/Mediasite/Play/7952ba4a329d4ad09420e725cbbed4f31d
Prof Pearson.
World Press Freedom Day
According to a visitor from North Shore swimming pools charges for kids should return
A wild guess that her people that haven’t complained about the previous ‘trivial’ prices are not low income. And now it costs nothing and more kids come to swim so it should cost again so fewer kids swim, but the cost didn’t stop people in the first place? Hmmm, I think she might need to sort that logic out.
Todayâs [2/5/13] New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a substantial gain in support for Prime Minister John Keyâs National Party to 46.5% (up 6% since April 1-14, 2013). Support for Keyâs Coalition partners remains low with the Maori Party 1.5% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 0.5% (unchanged) and United Future 0.5% (unchanged).
Support for Labour is 31.5% (down 4%); Greens are 11% (down 2.5%), New Zealand First 4.5% (down 0.5%), Mana Party 1% (up 0.5%), Conservative Party of NZ 2% (up 0.5%) and Others 1% (up 0.5%).
From Scoop.
This poll was taken from the 15th to 28th of March. What makes 46.5% people vote for this hopeless bunch? What made 6% change their vote to National?
This is an atrocious government that looks after the top 1%, how the hell do they get nearly half the Nation voting for them?
This Natz government is so blessed with a really appropriate Labour leader. And then there is the deputy who thinks he is really smart.
McFlock thinks Shearer is just fine for the job; shearly 32% or so will win the Treasury benches (with a bit of help from the Greens and others), what more could one possibly want from the Labour Party?
Oh, I’d love it if the right choice of leader would simultaneously turn labour into the NZ Socialist Party with support boosted to 70% in the two weeks from one roy morgan to the next.
But relentlessly nagging about it for months on end would just end up alienating my political allies and making me look like an obsessive, delusional loser.
So I take a breath, get the fuck over it, and try to improve the real world rather than pining for a leftist rapture.
It isn’t solely about winning an election McFlock – it is also about containing the excesses of an existing government from the opposition benches. Think about Michael Cullen, who with a blistering verbal attack, embarrassed Ruth Richardson into amending a rule by which widows’ benefits would have been paid from the date of application rather than the date of the partner’s death.
In comparison, the National Government now have carte blanche in their attacks on the powerless. Jacinda and Darien certainly do what they can with what they’ve got, but you never get the sense that the full force of the party is behind them in their efforts, and John Key can cheerfully bring in anti-worker legislation on May Day while damning Shearer with faint praise. If Labour eventually do get the treasury benches under Shearer, with 30% + add-ons, they will not only be a minority government, they will inherit an entrenched tyranny, partly of their own making. The only spark of conviction I have seen from them has been pitted against the left of their own party, not the Tories.
No, you don’t get the sense that the full force of the party is behind them.
But you do?
Well, except for a few members who throw their toys around because they didn’t get the leader they want, yes.
I get the impression that caucus are settling into their roles in the house quite well. More effectively than the nats have been of late.
At least you lot arent doing a ‘victory lap’ because a left government is a mathematical possibility.
Must Read for all concerned with health care delivery, fair assessments and with WINZ decisions based on such by designated doctors:
Welcome to our truly “independent”, “fair” and “caring” HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER and his staff at their office.
As of recent, some bizarre “decisions” have been made upon complaints to the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner. A recent one was made by Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Theodora (Theo) Baker.
I looked up her background on LinkedIn, and by doing an online search, I found revealing info re her last job at “Capsticks LLB”, which is a kind of large, virtually “corporate” style law firm in the UK, which does do a lot of work for NHS, private health care providers, trusts, and organisations that work with health care providers there.
See these links for intersting information:
Theo Baker’s personal Linked In “profile” lists her background of having worked for the ‘Health and Disability Commissioner Office’ before – as “Director of Proceedings” from 2004 to 2009. Then she appears to have left that office for an “overseas experience stint” at ‘Capsticks LLB’ in the UK, presumably to get more “legal expertise” in the health sector there – see this:
http://nz.linkedin.com/pub/theo-baker/61/301/b64
See ‘Capsticks LLB’:
http://www.capsticks.com/business-areas.php
http://www.capsticks.com/risk-management-and-litigation.php
(see comment re good record for “defending” “clinical negligence cases”!!!)
http://www.capsticks.com/regulatory.php
http://www.capsticks.com/careers.php
That corporate law firm has even entered the “social housing” business now:
http://www.capsticks.com/social-housing.php
Theo Baker returned to New Zealand and did in 2011 accept an appointment by Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, to take up a new job at the ‘Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner’ as DEPUTY HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER. She is according to online info and their staff chart responsible for “disputes resolution”! Anecdotal info about that “disputes resolution” is, that “resolution” appears to be more about “talking over matters” than investigating and holding medical practitioners and other health professionals accountable.
Now one wonders what motivated her to come back, and why National Party member and now Minister of Health Tony Ryall appointed her.
There was controversy about the appointment of Anthony Hill as new Commissioner before, which the Otago Daily Times wrote about here:
http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/191661/independence-commissioner-paramount
(by the way, the author of that article, Stuart McLennan, was a former staff member of that HDC Office himself, as Complaints Assessor!)
On reading that ODT article, one has to ponder on Dr Des Gorman again, head of a number of key health administrations (now ACC, so far Health Workforce NZ, National Health Board, Medical School of Auckland Uni, etc.), and apparently also a member of an international organisation called the ‘Medical Protection Society’! See this for VERY interesting information:
http://www.medicalprotection.org/
http://www.medicalprotection.org/newzealand/
So Dr Gorman is a clear advocate for protecting the interests of medical professionals, and he was like other key stakeholders (government and other providers and so forth) tasked with appointing a new Health and Disability Commissioner, whom they chose Anthony Hill for.
Given this information, does anybody still show any surprise about the lack of “action” and investigations that have been taken and started under the present Commissioner and his “team”? Theo Baker appears to “blend in” well with the office staff, who now operate under a top Commissioner appointed by Tony Ryall.
Until this day, the 4th of May 2013, only 7 cases have been decided on in this year, which involved proper investigation and an official, publicised statement by that office:
http://www.hdc.org.nz/decisions–case-notes/commissioner%27s-decisions/2013
That is a marked drop from what former, more effective and committed Commissioner Ron Paterson did in the way of investigations and decisions upon complaints.
So one may wonder, does NO “medical misadventure” or other “mistake” or failing happen in the medical and treatment professions in New Zealand these days? Well, it seems like with “welfare” suddenly figures “improve” under a slash, burn and “off-loading burdens” kind of government, and the “commissioners” and other office holders they have appointed.
Any person who has had reason to make a complaint to the H+D Commissioner (numbers are rather unchanged or even up with these), and who wonders, why no satisfactory action is taken, just needs to draw their conclusions from reading and studying the info found under links show above!
Fairness, reasonableness, objectivity and accountability no longer appear to be a priority for many office holders in such key institutions in New Zealand, I am afraid, if they ever were, really!
Do not be surprised, if you are getting fobbed off, off-loaded, treated with little respect, little dignity and honesty, be this by ACC, WINZ or any health professional, acting under stress, pressures, and demands to perform responsibilities in a cost saving environment. Time to worry, really!
Strangely one recent “decision” was about a WINZ designated doctor, who is well known to be a much used and preferred “assessor” for MSD and WINZ. The HDC Commissioner appears to have let him off the hook for extremely biased and questionable conduct and unfounded diagnosis and “recommendations”. The “assessment” just happened to be “too long ago”, and his statement “contradicted the one of the complainant”, was the simple conclusion, while an abundance of evidence was apparently not considered worth looking at.
So the matter was considered to not be worth “investigating further”.
Add the dots together. New Zealand is NOT the transparent, accountable and fair place that many still think it is.
X